Free tool
Cost calculator: official WhatsApp API vs fixed instance
Enter how many messages you send per month in each category and see what the official API (billed per delivered template message) costs next to a fixed price per active number. The math runs in your browser and nothing is sent anywhere.
Messages per month
Estimate the monthly volume of each category.
Promotions, news, re-engagement. Template.
Confirmations, reminders, order status. Template.
Verification codes. Template.
Replies inside the 24-hour window the customer opens.
Each number has its own free service allowance.
R$ 15 per active number per month.
Meta rates for Brazil (R$ per message)
BRL rate card in effect since 2026-10-01, checked on 2026-10-26 on Meta's official pricing page. The fields are editable.
Meta changes rates on the first day of each quarter. Check Meta's official page before you decide; if a value changed, edit the field. Meta's official pricing page
Result per month
- Official API (per message)
- R$0.00 per month
- ZapZap (fixed instance)
- R$15.00 per month
Fill in the volume of at least one category to see the result.
How Meta bills the official API
Since July 1, 2025 the WhatsApp Business Platform bills per delivered template message, no longer per conversation. Each message has one category (marketing, utility, authentication or service) and the price depends on the category and on the recipient's country. Messages a customer sends to the business are not charged.
Marketing, utility and authentication go out as templates, which can be sent at any time. Service is the free-form reply inside the 24-hour window the customer opens by writing. Each number gets 1,000 free service messages per month; above that, and from October 1, 2026, Meta charges.
The math this calculator does
Official API = marketing x marketing rate + utility x utility rate + authentication x authentication rate + (service messages minus the free allowance of all your numbers) x service rate. Default rates are Brazil's, in reais: marketing R$ 0.3217, utility R$ 0.035, authentication R$ 0.035 and service R$ 0.035 per message.
ZapZap = number of instances x R$ 15. ZapZap charges per active number per month, with no per-message charge, so the cost does not grow with volume.
What the math leaves out
- Provider (BSP) fees when you buy the official API through an intermediary, taxes, and exchange-rate changes if your account is not in reais.
- The activation fee charged when you create a ZapZap instance. You can look up the amount before creating, with GET /instances/cost.
- Meta's volume-tier discounts for utility and authentication. In the official Brazil table they start above 250,000 utility and 500,000 authentication messages per month; the calculator uses the list rate.
- They are different channels. The official API requires approved templates and is the channel Meta endorses. ZapZap connects the number by QR code, and WhatsApp can restrict numbers that send unwanted messages. Compare cost and risk, not only price.
Frequently asked questions
How much does the official WhatsApp API cost per message in Brazil?
From Meta's BRL rate card in effect since 2026-10-01, checked on 2026-10-26: R$ 0.3217 per marketing message and R$ 0.035 per utility, authentication or service message (service above the allowance). Check the official page before you decide.
Is replying to a customer charged?
Messages the customer sends are not charged. A reply inside the 24-hour window is a service message: 1,000 per month per number are free and the excess is charged from October 1, 2026.
Does ZapZap charge per message?
No. The price is R$ 15 per active number per month, prepaid, with no per-message charge and no lock-in.
Does the calculator store or send my numbers?
No. The math runs in your browser and nothing is collected or sent.
Try the fixed price for real
R$ 15 per active number per month, with no per-message charge. When you create your account and verify your phone, you get a welcome credit with no deposit needed (one per phone, subject to the current campaign).